Re: Darwin's influence on Stalin

Iain wrote

>But one can also say that, irrespective of its truth,
>Darwinism does often lead people to abandon their religious faith.

But this could also be an immature faith. I'm sure we
all have encountered at least a few things that really
challenged our faith. But we didn't lose it because
those things happened to us did we?

>Richard Dawkins is evangelical about this, and wants people to abandon
>religion because Darwinism provides a better explanation of why we are
>here than does religion.  

And again, Dawkins is someone who preys on this immature
faith to win converts. Not that creationist don't prey
on the unwary also. Neither does much good by this.

>On a more personal note, one of my mother's
>close friends, who is dying of cancer, has lost her faith in God
>because the Daily Mail says we're all descended from apes.  Now,
>admittedly her position is not a logical one, and you can't blame
>Darwinism for that, but equally one can say it's a cause.  Many true
>bits of knowledge have evil consequences (e.g. Nuclear Physics ->
>Hiroshima).  But the truth is surely always morally neutral, and it's
>the job of scientists to pursue it.
>

I can basically agree with you here.

By Grace we proceed,
Wayne
Received on Tue Jul 26 06:31:47 2005